Pros and Cons of Accepting Free Casino Chips
Whenever you visit an online casino, you'll want to check out how many casino bonuses they've got for you. Of the many you might find, there are some that are more popular among players than others. One of the key offers involves the free casino chip.
What are free casino chips?
These are chips that are given to casino members - often those who are signing up to play at the site for the first time. You occasionally see them offered to current members, but this is less common.
Of course, if casinos gave away casino chips with no conditions attached, they'd soon go out of business. So, there are some cons to claiming these to balance out the pros of doing so. We'll cover all aspects for you below.
What are the advantages of claiming free casino chips?
A free casino chip offered to a newbie is a reward simply for opening an account there. It gives you an opportunity to sign up and try some of their games with a chance of getting some real prizes too. Sure, you can often play demo games as a member of some casinos, but they never lead to actual prizes. By claiming a free chip, even if it's only worth $5, you can play the real version to see what happens.
A free chip might also be cashable, although this depends on the individual casino. If it is, you can cash out the value of the chip along with any winnings once you've completed the wagering requirements.
Some free chips also allow unlimited winnings, although these tend to be tempered by the wagering requirements. We wouldn't suggest playing any progressive jackpot slots with them, but they're great for allowing you to try some slot games you may have wanted to play but didn't want to risk your budget on just yet.
What are the disadvantages of claiming free casino chips?
Firstly, not all free chips are cashable. Many are sticky, meaning the value of the chip is retained by the casino even when cashing out any prizes. Let's say you receive a $5 free chip and win $15.56 while playing with it. Once you've completed the wagering requirements, you'll have to deduct the value of the chip from your winnings to get the chance to cash out. In this case, it would leave you with $10.56.
We've mentioned wagering requirements a couple of times so far. This is another pointer that can be a disadvantage to you. The wagering requirement is given as a multiplier, and the lower that multiplier is, the better it is for you. Finding a free chip with 5x wagering is way better than finding one with 35x wagering in place, for instance.
You can see that wagering the value of a $5 free chip 5x requires you to bet $25 before you can cash out. Raise the multiplier to 35x though, and you suddenly need to bet $175 before cashing out becomes a possibility. This means you need to read everything in the Ts and Cs for that free chip before deciding whether it is worth claiming it.
There can also be a ceiling on the amount of winnings you can claim from a free chip. Anything won over this ceiling value is lost.
When used sensibly, many free chips are worth claiming
The crucial thing here is to know how each free chip works and to understand the rules. If you can do that, you're going to get the best from each chip you find.